GreatNonprofits: Global Links

“People in other countries are literally dying for what we throw away.”  

Editor's note: Each week throughout the month of April, GreatNonprofits will feature an organization that is doing great environmental work. This week, they share the story of Global Links.

When cholera broke out in Haiti in October, local medical clinics lacked basic supplies to deal with the epidemic. Global Links, a medical relief organization dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship by cleaning and refurbishing used medical equipment, sent 369 mattresses, 97 IV poles and 432 sheets to the devastated island nation.

“Global Links is a pioneer in its approach to both environmental stewardship and development assistance,” writes L. Anderson, one of its volunteers. “Every year, the organization makes a measurable, direct and immediate impact in the lives of thousands of our world's poorest – and it does so using materials that would otherwise be thrown away in U.S. landfills. I have worked with few other organizations that have such a profound sense of their responsibility both at home and abroad and such an enduring commitment to protecting both our planet and the people on it.”

Since its inception in 1989, Global Links has recovered more than 3,500 tons of still-useful medical materials that would have otherwise been headed for landfills and incinerators, and has donated over $168 million worth of goods to hospitals and clinics in 70 countries.

Global Links was named a 2011 Top-Rated environmental nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.

Every item collected is inspected, repaired, cleaned and catalogued. Global Links’ warehouse is stacked with wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, filing cabinets and hospital furniture awaiting shipment.  

“As a volunteer who sorts and packages the supplies I know that I am making an incredible difference in the lives of people who just don't have access to a resource-rich healthcare system,” writes Lindsay, another one of its volunteers. “By utilizing volunteers, overhead costs are kept down and a higher percentage of monetary donations may be utilized for programmatic tasks, such as shipping costs.”

Learn more about how you can get involved at GreatNonprofits.

Global Links is a GreatNonprofits 2011 Top-Rated environmental nonprofit. GreatNonprofits.org is a free, nonprofit website where you can write or read reviews of nonprofits.